Tempura Miyashita — Restaurant in Kanazawa

This was a hidden gem. To date it’s the best tempura I’ve ever had. The best way to book a reservation is to find someone who speaks Japanese. If your hotel has a concierge, use it. You will have to give your credit card information and you will be charged if you miss your appointment. This makes sense because their is only 7 seats and they’re all counter seats. Make sure you have Google Translate because the outside of the restaurant and menu has no English. The Japanese characters on the restaurant will read Mishiyata. There’s a menu outside and the phone # there should be the same as the website. There are 4 set menus priced at 7500, 7500, 9700, and 11200. The difference between the latter 2 is that there is Uni tempura in the latter. We ordered the latter 2 and in the end I preferred the 9700 to the 11200 yen. I would also encourage spending the 9500 as a minimum because the fish selection is better. After all when will you do this again? The entire course took 2 hours and 15 min to go through. He prepares each item as a single course and it is entertaining to watch a master at work. He places the item on your plate, explains what it is and tells you what seasoning to use. There are 3: salt, curry powder, and tempura sauce which you will mix with grated daikon. Everything was so good. My favorites were the shrimp heads, fish filet, crab meat, shishito peppers. My least favorite was the Uni only because I love Uni cold and it felt strange to eat it hot. The service is impeccable and the energy he exudes for more than 2 hours straight is impressive. He’s always attentive, watching you eat to see if you’re enjoying your food and if you are and you express it through groans of delight or verbally by Oishii, he smile brightly. He’s always aware if your cups are empty that he have it replaced. We sat down at six and before we knew it time had passed quickly without us noticing and we didn’t want the evening to end. This experience was not just a fill your stomach experience. It was a cultural and intimate experience. We got to talk with the other 4 Japanese customers through broken English and hand gestures. It’s an experience we’ll probably not have ever again so we’re grateful to have had this time with a...

Tempura Miyashita - Incredible Michelin Tempura experience with a master who does not advertise he has a Michelin star in order to avoid unwanted attention. Typically, this restaurant does not even allow foreigners but our special friends pulled strings and not only got all of in to this tiny little restaurant that only seats 8, but they even customized the Omakase menu for all my favorites. Each tempura piece was a masterpiece - cut and coated in a way to maximize its potential. Some were so crispy they would shatter like glass when you buy them, others had more of a satisfying crunch like fried chicken. At one point he prepared a local sweet shrimp with two different coatings to showcase the difference in technique. Another highlight was a dashi marinated local daikon, Upon reflection, I feel this tempura restaurant was significantly better than all the 2 and 3 star tempura restaurants I have enjoyed in Tokyo. I give some of that credit to our friends who arranged our dinner with the restaurant including requesting special menu items based on our preferences. , #Kuishinbo...

Divine tempura made only more special by chef, the waitress and welcoming local patrons who were seated beside us. We were truly lucky as the local patrons initiated conversation and there commenced a night of Google translate conversation around manga, anime, travel itineraries and local recommendations. They generously gifted us each a glass of sake too. Hospitality bar none

The lightest tempura batter I've ever had with the freshest sweetest ingredients. Both Chef and the waitress are incredibly attentive. Chef advises on how to eat each dish (salt and lemon, curry powder, tempura sauce) - do as he says, they're matches made in heaven. The most expensive set had fried uni, scallops and a brown mushroom; all treats well worth the splurge.

Reservations required. Best if hotel concierge can...